Girls und Panzer: Mercenary's Help
by Blade-Tribal-Wolf
Summary: The School has been saved, the debt had been paid off with the prize money. But that didn't meant that they would stop driving tanks. Now Miho and the gang were in their final year and not ready to give up their titel. Ex-President Anzu however called for a surprise. A male surprise.
1. Chapter 1

_**New story, new genre. This generally came up in my head when I saw that there were no guys driving tanks. So I made three commanders. Based on my imagination, my platoonmates in World of Tanks and their favorite tanks. All rights are for the producers of Girls und Panzer, the names used in the story are thought up by me or used with the concent of the people they look like. The tanks used in the story are in line with the Girls und Panzer rules and guidelines and are used in real life combat in World War II.**_

Next chapter will also hold some basic information about the added characters.

_**Any questions and critique about the story will be listened to if, and only if, they are given in a calm and orderly review. All flamers will be ignored and laughed at for being stupid. Blade-Tribal-Wolf is a person with a busy life and it will take time for every chapter of every story. We humbly ask you to calmly wait for every chapter which are written in private time between busy student lives.**_

Thank you and have fun reading.  
B-T-W Productions.

* * *

An office, in the middle of a school building. Some call it the special room of the student council. The users call it… nothing. They just sit there and talk. This time, the three main users had an important conversation.  
"Okay, listen up you two. I just made a call and we found a client after all this time. We finally get the chance to see the main stage."  
The first person in the room, sitting on the desk exclaimed to the other two.  
"So what do we take with us? Have they made any wishes? Otherwise I say we take _The King_ at least."  
The second person said while sitting on the couch. He blew out some smoke from the cigarette he was smoking.  
"At least open a window when you take a smoke, I don't have anything against is but I still get trouble breathing."  
The final person said while sitting backwards on a chair. He waved the smoke away from his face. The second listened and opened a window where the smoke left through. The first coughs and took attention.  
"The client just said they wanted tanks that could help them win, in a fun way. So we should take where we have the most fun with. I have the most fun with _The King_. I don't know what your choices are, but we need to keep ourselves to the rules. Understood?"  
The other two nodded and the second took attention this time.  
"Then I will take _Jumbo_. It's the best fun I had between all the other pieces we have."  
The first nodded again, approving and looked to the third. Asking what he would pick.  
"I think I will take the _Hellcat_. Good enough for the job."  
The other two nodded again and all three of them stood up and walked to each other. All three showed their best smile and they gave each other a hand.  
"Gentleman, if this works, we will write history as the first males, that went Panzerfahren between the ladies. Our Sensha-do awaits… Next year!"  
The other two looked shocked. The time to wait was too long!  
"Only next year?!"

* * *

Ōarai Girls High School. Formerly pretty unknown among the battleship schools. This changed when the new team of Panzerfahrers of this school won the tournament, beating all the odds. The school gained a lot of popularity thanks to that and the number of registrations went up. This year the girls of the Anglerfish team are in their third year, just like the other second year teams. The Turtle team graduated with the biggest smiles ever and the Rabbit team all made it to the second year. Of course the girls were sad to see the president go, but they said they had a present for the Panzer team next year.  
Miho walked to school on this nice day, the ship had arrived at shore, which meant a happy Soari wanting to go shopping. She stretched her arms smiling to the morning sun. She was happy to see her friends again, although they met a lot in the past vacation they got. But the last words of the president Anzu and PR manager Momo were still clear.  
"_Next year there will be a surprise for you, a gift from us for winning the tournament._"  
What could the present be? They also said that Saori would be very happy with the present. What did they mean? New tanks? She wondered so hard about what it could be that she didn't see the lantern post in front of her and bumped her head against it. With a yelp of pain and a soft moan Miho laughed nervously and continued on her way. Today her questions would finally be answered. The instructor would come today with the gift. The instructor herself said she was interested as well.

The school bell rang. It was time for the first training of the new year. And with that there was sight of a lot of new students who wanted to help out the Panzerfahren team. Be it at repairing, painting, cleaning or training. There were some new students. A few would be assigned to the Hetzer since it's unmanned. But there were simply not enough tanks to fill the places. The money they won with the tournament was enough to keep the ship running, but that was it, the school would exist a few years more. No new tanks, no new upgrades unless they made them themselves. What did they need to do.  
All the girls were in attendance. The instructor had already arrived on board and greeted them.  
"Hello and welcome girls. My name is Ami Chono and I will be your instructor again this year."  
She smiled and the entire group greeted her back with a bow. Some girls started talking about her but Ms. Chono silenced them.  
"Normally I would start of by a battle royal. Just like last year but before that will happen, we will get shown a surprise. Presented by the last student president. Or so she said, even I have no idea what will come."  
The girls looked at each other. Yukari was the first to open her mouth.  
"Nishizumi-dono, Maybe the surprise is one or two new tanks to help us win the tournament this year."  
Miho smiled and nodded.  
"That would be quite the surprise and a nice one, I think this year will be a lot harder this year. They won't underestimate us this year. Or give us lucky chances."  
Miho's smile disappeared for a small moment but smiled again when she saw Yukari look worried to her. Soari and hana also smiled while Mako just looked away. She suddenly tugged Soari on her sleeve and pointed towards something.  
"Look…Something is coming."  
Soari looked and also saw something big moving between the buildings. The sound of multiple engines also came closer. The instructor also smiled and pointed towards the entrance of the training grounds.  
"I think the surprise is about to arrive."  
The girls looked in anticipation towards the entrance. The sounds came closer and soon they agreed it was the sound of an tank, and that it was close. Yukari was almost jumping up and down from excitement.

* * *

The first tank rolled in the training grounds. It was a big grey tank and it looked really intimidating. On the side there were two signs. The first one was a red shield with three white planes on it. The second sign was a black square with a white crown on it. As the first tank positioned himself Yukari jumped forward.  
"A Tiger II or otherwise called Königstiger. One of the biggest fears of the allied forces in WWII. With their long 8.8cm guns they had a 100% hit rate for targets closer than one kilometer. Practices proven the hit rate to be lower than that but it was still a big threat with his amazing armor coverage. The allies really needed to attack the tank on the sides."  
The girls laughed at their happy, explaining friend. But they already knew it was a Tiger II. Maybe no the freshman, but the veterans of last year still remembered the tanks from the fight with the Kuromorimine school.

The second tank to roll in was also not a total unknown one. It looked like the well known M4 Sherman tank of the American army, only this one was painted in different shades of green and brown. A camouflage. The same red shield with white planes was on the tank like the Tiger, but the second sign was an elephant. It was also visible that the front was more buffed than the usual Sherman. Miho looked to Yukari and asked her if that was a regular Sherman.  
"No Nishizumi-dono. This is a M4A3E2 Sherman, otherwise known as the Jumbo. It has a heavier turret with a M1A1 76mm gun. This tank is called Jumbo thanks to his added armor. The Jumbo had more than twice the armor of a normal M4 Sherman."  
Miho nodded and smiled.  
"Thanks Yukari."  
Yukari blushed and scratched her head, like she always does when she gets complimented by Miho.

To some surprise a third tank arrived, this one had the original brown color the Americans put on their tanks. It also had the red shield and planes on their side and also an image of an evil cat with red eyes. The tank parked on the other side of the Tiger II and everyone looked at Yukari again for an explanation of what that tank was.  
"This is also a rare one. The M18 Hellcat. Tank destroyer class tank of the American army. With an 76mm M1A2 cannon it was a fast firing tank destroyer. But the true power of the tank was the speed. This tank can go 88kph (Kilometers per second) and is one of the fastest tanks in the war. The down side was the armoring, it was almost nothing. I heard the successor from the Hellcat and his brother the M10 Wolverine was the M36 Jackson, which carried a 90mm cannon. This cannon could also be mounted on the Hellcat if it took the turret of the Jackson. That would make the Hellcat a dangerous opponent since it's good in hiding and sniping targets."

After Yukari was finished the commander hatches of both the Jumbo and Tiger opened and a person wearing a helmet came out. The Hellcat had a open top so the commander just jumped out and walked to the other two. The three exchanged some words and walked to the instructor. After some private moments the instructor looked towards the group and smiled.  
"Well, this is indeed a surprise right? These three are the commanders of the tanks. They will introduce themselves now. Go ahead."  
The instructor signaled the three to step forward and introduce themselves. The Tiger commander took the lead. He took off his helmet and the crowd was surprised to see a male's face appear from behind the helmet with a stern face.  
"My name is Jarno Monfils, Commander of the Tiger II, named _The King_."  
The second stepped forward with a happy smile on his face, also revealing to be male.  
"My name is Joran Schuurman, commander of the M4A3E2 Sherman named Jumbo. Nice to meet you."  
The third slowly came forward, he looked more tired or lazy than the first two but was also male.  
"My name is Rick van Es. Commander of the M18 Hellcat. How you doing?"

The silence was long, some shocked faces, some were still processing and some were giggling that there were some guys looking at them. (Mostly the Rabbit team and Soari) Mako was the first one to react thanks to her calm nature.  
"Welcome to the school."  
While she waited to continue the others followed her example of greeting.  
"But this is an all girl school. What are they doing here?"  
The girls looked from Mako to the guys and back. Some nodded and admitted it was strange for guys to do Panzerfahren. The Tiger commander stepped forward to explain.  
"We are from the Enfield Air School. There were also some tanks there and the three of us raised a club out of the ground which takes these tanks and hires them out to help out other schools. These three are our personal favorites and almost never chosen to be hired, because they want the girls in our club to drive them. Our latest client, Miss Anzu Kadotani, said that the rules didn't dictate that no guys could participate or other schools could help out this one. So she said we could command our tanks, rather ones we felt comfortable with and fill the roles that were left. So here we are. We will command these tanks, but the other spots can be filled by the girls here."  
The other two behind him nodded. The girls looked over to the tanks and the guys riding them. Not being totally convinced the guys could handle the team or tournament. Others thought it was embarrassing to be the only team with males in it. The Historian club and the former freshman's were the only ones who really approved of them as part of the team. Miho looked towards the tanks to judge. If they really could control those tanks…  
"…We might have a better chance."

The instructor clapped her hands to stop the talking. She also looked at the tanks and nodded.  
"It's indeed true that there are no rules about guys joining the match but would you mind to join the training exercises?"  
The guys nodded. Jarno took the lead and said.  
"Will there be some willing to help command the tanks. We do have our own crew with us but they will be here to help with training exercises like driving and gunnery for these tanks. Because, from what we heard, you only have two tanks like ours. The Porsche Tiger is somewhat like the King but only in weight and control. The M3 Lee is close to the Jumbo but you have nothing like the Hellcat. We would be glad to help."  
The guys looked at the large group of girls. Some started to back down and not a lot were left. There were around 10 girls that didn't mind to control the machines. Four went to Jarno and his Tiger. Three went to Joran. And the final three to Rick. The instructor smiled.  
"Okay girls. There is only one spot left. Is there no one left that likes to help… Which tank still needs one?"  
The guys pointed to the Hellcat. Where Rick was already helping the girls inside. Explaining what everyone's role was, if they had a role in mind.  
"I only miss a gunner Miss Instructor. But I can do that as well, my gunner is also part of another club so sometimes I do both when we're training. "  
The instructor looked a little concerned. The commander had already enough responsibility for the entire crew. But we already had undermanned tanks last year which are manned now. The B1 bis now had two freshmen's who joined the discipline squad. The type got a loader and the Porsche Tiger got a Radio operator. All tanks were now fully manned and ready to go.  
"Okay, you get my permission for now. But once we get another gunner she will be on your crew, okay?"  
Rick nodded and saluted like the Americans did.  
"Yes Ma'am."  
The instructor smiled and looked at all the tanks. There were eleven tanks now. More then what would be allowed in the regular rounds. She thought of a way to introduce the strategies of the guys with the tactics of the girls. And she could only think of one way.  
"Okay girls, we're going to do this just like last year. A mock battle. This time with teams. The first team will be the Panzer IV, the Stugg III, the B1 bis and the Type 2 Chi-Nu. Team two will be the Hetzer, the Porsche Tiger, the M3 Lee and the Type 89. The final team will be the Tiger II, the Sherman Jumbo and the Hellcat. Any questions?"  
Everyone yelled no to the instructor and went towards their respective tanks. Miho, Hana, Yukari, Saori and Mako looked to the guys. They didn't seem so dangerous. If they had to base them with the way they had their first impression, then Jarno would be like Momo, Joran like Erwin and Rick like Mako. And that Rick would also be gunner.  
"He is calm enough to have a steady hand in gunnery. Maybe he is more dangerous than we think."  
Hana said and they went to the Panzer IV. But they would be wrong in the end. It wasn't his gunnery that was strong in that team. It was the command of the Tiger that showed potential.

As the teams got in position the girls that drove the new tanks got used to them. The Tiger II had a swift first year as loader named Eri, a second year driver that was pretty psyched named Miku, a calm second year radio operator that listened if there was any news named Kaoru and a third year gunner named Katsumi. She was somewhat shy and kept looking at Jarno. He didn't mind, he thought she was either shy with males, or hoping she will do it right. As the tank came to a halt he spoke up to the crew.  
"This is only a mock battle, this is the first time we worked together in this tank. For you it is the first time in this tank. Just take it easy and learn how to control the tank."  
He smiled to the girls who answered back with an excited yell. Jarno smiled back, this promised to be fun. The girls liked him. He stayed calm and had good judgement. On their way here he had instructed them in a simple but kind manner, which pleased the girls. The girls were all part of the swimming club.  
The Jumbo, which consisted of a crew of four. Joran looked at the three girls. The driver Kotone, a first year, didn't really got the controls in order but Joran guided her well, she still needed training he thought. The gunner Mayumi, another first year, and her sister Maï, a second year loader, pretty much had the same problem, only they helped each other like they knew the others job better. Joran had no idea if the needed to switch seats or just keep going like this.  
"I'm hoping this will be a fun battle for us. Thanks for working with me and my friends. I will do my best as your commander."  
The girls smiled back to him. He didn't seem as bad as when he first looked, and he joyfully helped them. The girls were part of the archery club.  
The Hellcat was already at the place to be when the other two were still on their way. The driver was panting from excitement. The tank was faster than she thought and she was used to speed. Her name was Konoka. The loader Chihiro was also pretty surprised by the speed. Even if she was the fastest in her club. The radio operator Mana wasn't surprised by the speed. She just listened to the radio and talked to the other two Radio operator, even though the Jumbo's operator was Joran. Rick looked at them. He was still tired from their trip to this place but it seemed like they would make it. He still needed to help them, and get a gunner but he didn't mind. As long as there is fun right? That was their task at least. When the other two had arrived he also did a small speech.  
"Girls, I know we just met and that this is a mock battle. But thank you for trusting me as your commander. Now let's do this."  
The girls yelled back and were pumped. They were all part of the Cycle club.

Miho pressed in the throat radio and talked to the other commanders she was connected to.  
"Girls, we have two advantages. We have the best experienced crew and the Stugg in these woods. The Stugg is good in hiding here so we can put an ambush somewhere. But we must also look out for the other teams tanks. The Tiger II has good armor and a strong gun. The Jumbo is also well armored and we don't know much about the Hellcat. The other team has tanks we know but the Hetzer is small like our Stugg, watch out for ambushes. Also the Type 89 is fast and the Porsche Tiger has a good gun, same applies to the M3. Please be careful."  
Erwin, Sodoko and Nekonya replied happily and started their engines.

The starting signal was given by the instructor and all tanks went forward. Miho looked through the commander cupola to look around. She had ordered the other tanks to follow her. It had been a while since they last did a battle here but the terrain hasn't changed that much. She looked at the map and thought the other tanks might want to go to the open and hide in the cover there. The first one that would show themselves in the open would be shot, so one team would probably use a tank as bait. Which could be the Porsche Tiger or the Tiger II with their strong armor. She thought about the chances and nodded.  
"All tanks go to point 559. There we will hide in the edge of the clearing. The Stugg will cover the bridge. All clear?"  
The other tanks reacted positive and moved to the given location. After a while the first team arrived at the edge of the clearing. They stopped on their given locations and the Stugg moved to have a clear shot on the bridge. Miho looked through the last trees to see a glimpse of the enemy. She expected the Tiger II or the Porsche Tiger to move to the front but nothing yet. She saw something move in the forest on the other side but no indication it was the other team. If they fired a shot towards them then it would give away their position, which they couldn't risk. Given the starting locations of the other teams, then it wouldn't be strange to have one of the teams on the other side and the third team to the right of them. Miho just switched to looking where the Tiger II team was when she saw something shot out of the woods. Yukari looked with her and recognized the fast tank.  
"It's the Hellcat, the driver must have accidently went too fast."  
As Yukari said that they saw something strange, the top of the Hellcat was open and the upper body of Rick stuck out. He was smiling and yelling to go forward. Straight to the bridge. The girls were surprised about the bold tactic, and that the tired looking guy was so active. But they reacted quickly when there was fire coming from the other side of the forest. The second team started to fire on the fast Hellcat, which proved to be too fast for normal aim and most shots missed entirely. Even the Hetzer, which carried the new Student council President and staff, had the familiar misses.  
"All tanks, fire at the enemy team on the other side of the clearing who are firing at the Hellcat. The chances to hit them are bigger than hitting the hellcat. Stugg, the Hellcat is rushing to the bridge, wait for your shot."  
Erwin reacted soon and turned back towards the bridge.  
"Roger general."  
The Stugg waited until the Hellcat was almost on the bridge. Meanwhile the other three tanks were aiming towards Team 2. The B1 bis saw the Porsche Tiger first and aimed towards the weak spots in the armor. The Chi-Nu aimed towards the Type 89. The Panzer IV aimed to the M3 Lee, which was in excellent cover more back than the other two. It was that Hana saw the 90mm gun on the Lee fire that they knew where it was.  
"The other team learned how to take excellent cover since last time. We can't even see the Hetzer."  
Miho noticed and kept searching for it. The Hetzer could have gone around them with its low profile, but they wouldn't try it right?

The three tanks opened fire to the other side, shaking Miho out of her thoughts. She looked if the other tanks were hit. She looked through her binoculars and saw the shells hit their target. The Lee had one big hit which made the KO-flag come out. Hana had found a weakspot and sniped it. The Type 89 bounced the shot and moved away, the same with the Porsche Tiger. The two tanks went backwards and rotated their turrets towards the team of Miho. Before the turrets were completely rotated Miho heard that all tanks had reloaded.  
"Once again. Fire!"  
The cannons exploded and another shell flew out of them. The Type 89 evaded the shell this time and the Porsche just turned its best armor towards the shells. Miho looked at the guns and knew that if they aimed well enough, her team would lose two tanks.  
"Drive backwards, fast. Try to evade the fire of the other team."  
She spoke through her throat communicator and she felt the tank drive backwards. She looked one last time through her binoculars to look before she jumped back into the tank. But she saw something which made her change her commands.

"Fire!"  
Two shots were fired from some unknown place and hit the Type and the Porsche. The Type lost its tracks but was still in the game, the Porsche was less lucky. The hit was hard in its side and the KO-flag popped out. Miho looked to the situation but before she could order Hana to fire to the Type to make it totally KO another hit came on the Type. Yukari popped out from the side and looked to Miho.  
"The Porsche is hit by the Tiger II. That blast was too big for something a Sherman can do. That tank is all about reload speed."  
Miho nodded to Yukari and turned when she heard another blast, which was the Stugg opening fire to the Hellcat.  
"General, we de-tracked the Hellcat but it's still operational. We're lucky it's a tank destroyer."  
Erwin sounded happy. But Miho looked shocked, apparently they forgot what the Hellcat really was.  
"Stugg, reload fast and fire, the Hellcat has a turret!"  
Erwin heard the message and looked through the scope. She saw the turret of the Hellcat turn and looked to Saemonza, the gunner, and Caesar, the loader.  
"Load the next shell fast, we will win this battle against our wish of last year. When we really wanted a turret."

The turret of the Hellcat turned slowly. Rick was pre aiming the gun on the right elevation for he had seen the Stugg's position when it fired.  
"Come and get some."  
He said and kept turning the turret. Konoka looked to Rick and apologized.  
"I'm sorry sir, I forgot that you said that the response is a little slow thanks to its speed."  
She was a bit shaken up since the loss of the tracks had made the Hellcat spin. Rick smiled to her and reassured her.  
"Don't mind, we aren't out yet. And as long as we're in. We will make a difference."

The turning of the turret stopped on the same moment the shell of the Stugg was loaded. Both sides took one last aim before pulling the trigger.  
"Fire!"  
The command came from both tanks and the shells flew towards each other. They barely missed and went towards the other tank where they hit the bulls-eye. Both tanks were out. The Hellcat took a hit in the side while the Stugg just got a low blow on its lower glacias.  
"Sorry General, but we're taken out, we took one with us at least."  
Erwin reported to Miho over the radio. This left the Hetzer in team 2, the Tiger II and the Jumbo in team 3 and the B1 bis, Panzer IV and the Chi-Nu in her team. It looked good for now but… How long would it take for the tide to turn?


	2. Chapter 2

**New chapter after a week. Together with the Zero no Tsukaima story. We take a lot up our fork, but we try to keep it up.  
Thanks for your support and happy reading.  
**

* * *

Ami looked from her watchtower and saw, more thanks to the security system than her eyesight, that the M3 Lee, Porsche Tiger, Hellcat, Type 89 and Stug III were out. She took the Radio and reported the stats to the teams.  
"Okay Ladies, oh and gentleman. The M3 Lee team, Porsche Tiger team, Hellcat team, Stug III team, and Type 89 team are out. This leaves team 1 with only the Hetzer, team 2 has the B1 bis, Panzer IV and type 3 Chi-Nu and team 3 has the Tiger II and the Sherman Jumbo. Seems like a rough battle so hold on."  
Ami put down the microphone as she was tapped on her shoulder. One of the students that applied for a mechanical job climbed her tower and stood behind her.  
"Miss, there is a student here that said she was late. Her name is Yuï and she wanted to be part of the team."  
Ami walked down to meet the student. In the meantime the battle was still fully raging. Miho was in a bind, where could that Hetzer be? Was it also on the bridge outlook? No, then the Stug would have seen something. Where is that Hetzer?

In the meantime the Jumbo and the Tiger II were talking strategies.  
"We grouped to take down that other team but we lost the Hellcat. What should we do next?"  
Joran asked the radio operator of the Tiger II who gave the message to Jarno. Jarno sat on his seat thinking out a strategy. They had two options, drive and hope they reveal their positions too soon. And tank spotting, which is the Hellcat's job.  
"We go forward, make sure your frontal armor is pointing to the enemy team. And watch out for the Hetzer, apparently we didn't hit that one."  
Kaoru relayed the message to Joran who nodded and looked to Kotone.  
"Let's go slowly, use the King as cover for the Panzer IV team and look out for that Hetzer."  
Kotone nodded.  
"Yes sir."  
Joran looked a little let down and smiled towards her.  
"You can just call me Joran. You can all do that. I'm not really a fan of doing all that rang stuff. Except when needed."  
The girls smiled back and the tank started to move again. The Tiger II slowly made its way towards the open plains but tried to stay in cover of the trees with a small path it was following. The Jumbo slowly followed and pointed its gun towards the place where the Hetzer would be. Jarno in the Tiger II looked around. They had to find the Panzer IV team if they wanted to win. The armor on the tank was strong enough to bounce most shots The weakest armor was defended by the Jumbo and he knew his friend would watch out for his own ass. And Yukari saw this.

The team under Miho's command had retreated to a safe place and dropped Yukari off for reconnaissance. Yukari looked through the trees and saw the Tiger II move forward with the Jumbo covering his rear. The team knew how important it was to take down this big tank. It wasn't impossible, but it would be difficult. Nekonya contacted Miho with her World of Tanks knowledge.  
"Miss Nishizumi, the Tiger II is pretty feared even with this gun but there are important weak spots we might hit well enough to knock out the tank. At least, if they are the same as in the game, I know that some things aren't always the same but still…"  
Miho nodded to Soari and told Nekonya to continue.  
"The lower glacis of the german tanks are always a weak spots since there are engine parts behind it. If we hit that hard enough than we might knock it out partly. Next to that is the Tiger II has certain places on the side that we can easily penetrate if we fire accurate enough."  
Miho nodded listening to Nekonya. Even though it was something pretty common, Miho hadn't really thought about it.  
"Thanks Nekonya, do you think you could show where the weak spot is on the side? And then fire on it with the B1. Then we will try to hit its lower glacis when he is distracted."  
Nekonya acknowledged the order and began moving forward to spot the Tiger II. The B1 bis followed and loaded both guns. There was no real certainty that they would penetrate the tank but they needed to do something. Mako moved the Panzer IV more west of where the Chi-Nu was headed. So that when the Tiger was distracted, Hana could put a shot in the weak spot. The plan had some kinks in it but those would be fixed when they were happening.

The King was slowly moving forward with the Jumbo behind him. They were alert and hoped nothing would happen as they were driving, but anything could happen at the moment. Jarno was nervously looking through the scope, hoping to see something in the tree line. The Hetzer was still missing and they were close to three enemy tanks. Jarno decided to take another close look to the tree line, even though Katsumi tried to calm him down and try again when he lost the tension. Jarno did calm down but he was still tense because it was mid-battle and they didn't have a spotter. But there he saw it, a cannon aimed straight at their side.  
"Hit the brakes!"  
Jarno yelled through the microphone and both Miku and Kotone hit the brakes hard so both tanks were standing still.  
"Enemy at 9 o'clock. Turn turret 87 degrees at half speed and prepare to fire."  
There were too many trees at this point to turn the entire hull. They were trapped and the others knew it. The Jumbo was small enough to turn his hull and help fire at the enemy. Jarno ordered to turn at half speed for one reason only. The turret rotation drains engine power and you don't want the engine to overheat for turning the turret. The Chi-Nu opened fire and hit one of the Tiger II's weak spots head on. Behind the plate of armor they hit was, just like the lower glacis, important engine parts. If they immobilized the Tiger II they would have the advantage in the battle.  
"That's the spot, try to hit the same place please Sodoko."  
The B1 bis followed the Chi-Nu's example and fired at the same spot the Chi-Nu hit. But the stuff that went through the radio wasn't a order to fire.  
"Don't call me Sodoko!"  
Apparently she still doesn't like that. Miho thought.  
"Please move forward Mako, how long do you need to aim Hana?"  
Mako nodded and the Panzer IV began to move.  
"Not long Miho, give me a few seconds."  
Hana's response was short and she concentrated to fire. But they didn't expect the Tiger II's reaction somewhat later.

The moment Jarno saw that there were only two tanks firing at him he began looking for the Panzer IV. When he saw that the tank appeared in front of him he ordered the turret to turn again.  
"Enemy at front. Full turret speed."  
The turret began to turn hard and the engine roared from the power drain. The Anglerfish team didn't expect the fast turn and Mako made a drift, hoping to make the first shot miss. It was a good thing she did because the first shot flew right past the Panzer IV, taking the schurzen on the turret with it. Hana aimed at the lower glacis together with the Chi-Nu and B1 bis aiming at the side.  
"Fire!"  
It sounded from the radio and all three tanks fired. The combined shots from the three tanks and the overheating of the underpowered engine with the fast turret traverse made the Tiger II lose its engine. The knock out flag popped out and the girls began to cheer. They took down the Tiger II! Jarno sighed in his commanders seat and smiled. He was outsmarted by a good strategist. He looked at the girls and they seemed happy. It was a good battle

The cheers in the Chi-Nu soon stopped as the Jumbo had a great hit on the side of the tank, rendering the Chi Nu knocked out as well. The B1 bis quickly tried to turn, bouncing the next shot of the Jumbo. The B1 aimed for the Jumbo with the 75mm hull gun. Sodoko looked through the periscope as the 37mm cannon still turned.  
"Stop the turning of the turret, I see the Hetzer, it's right behind the Jumbo!"  
As the Radio operator gave the information to Saori the Hetzer moved to aim at the Jumbo. The 75mm took a shot at the Jumbo and bounced of the reinforced armor of the tank. The Jumbo aimed but bounced off the rounding of the turret of the B1. Sodoko thought about it and ordered the B1 to turn and aim all guns at the Hetzer. While the B1 turned the Jumbo took another shot and shot the turret stuck. The 37mm gun couldn't be used now and the Hetzer just took its position. Joran still haven't seen the tank and kept firing at the B1. The Hetzer took his chance and fired at the Jumbo, hitting the side and shooting of the tracks but the tank was still in the game. The B1 was the next one firing the 75mm at the Hetzer. Which was a killing hit. The Hetzer was out but it was mostly luck. It was hit on the machine gun port on the front. It was lucky bit the Jumbo was more lucky. The distraction of the Hetzer gave Mayumi enough time to have a nice aimed shot at the B1 bis. The shot hit right between the drivers port and the 75mm cannon. The hit was good enough to knock out the tank. The flag popped out and Sodoko and her team sighed. They were knocked out again!

Now the Jumbo and Panzer IV were left. But with the tracks off the Jumbo, they didn't really stand a chance. They knew each other's position but there was another tank between them. The traverse speed of the Jumbo's turret was fast enough to switch sides but they still needed to hit. The Panzer IV had proven themselves before in these kinds of situations, but they still needed to be cautious.  
"Mako, can you get around the Tiger and evade the Jumbo's fire?"  
Mako looked at the tank and shook her head.  
"The Tiger was pretty stuck, we will be right in their gun. Whatever we do, it will be them or us."  
Miho sighed. They had to make the move because the Jumbo's tracks were shot off. Miho opened the commander's hatch and tried to look around the Tiger. She could see parts of the Jumbo, especially that the turret pointed at the Tiger wreck to be able to turn as fast as possible towards them. It was a small chance but it was there.  
"Do it anyway, we will go around them and try to bounce the first shot, if we do that we might have a chance. It's the only way to stop this battle, we need to get around this tank one way or another and they won't expect a frontal attack so soon."  
Mako nodded and turned the Panzer IV. The roaring of the engine warned the Jumbo to be alert. Joran looked through his periscope and looked from where they would come. The engine echoed a little so it was difficult to pinpoint the exact location. Luckily the radio was still operational of the Tiger II. So Kaoru got information from Jarno to Joran.  
"The Panzer IV tries to get around the right side."  
Joran nodded and looked to Mayumi. He ordered the turret to turn to the right side fast. They needed to be fast because the sound of the engine became louder. Joran took a gamble and tried to predict when the Panzer IV would appear.

The moment that the Panzer IV appeared from behind the Tiger II all hell broke loose. Joran predicted it a little too late but still ordered to fire. The shell missed the turret by a hair but the Panzer IV had also fired a shell. The shell of the Panzer IV hit an armored part of the turret so it bounced off. Mako turned the tank fast trying to get to the other side of the Jumbo so Hana could get a good shot. The turret of the Jumbo was pretty fast so it was a battle of who could fire first. The Panzer IV after it would stop moving? Or the Jumbo after the turret stopped turning?  
The Panzer IV came to a standstill while the Jumbo still couldn't fire at them. Hana took the shot and the shell rammed itself in the Jumbo. It was quiet for a second. Did the shell knock out the tank? The Jumbo's turret stopped moving and Joran looked if the flag popped out. When he saw the flag didn't pop out yet he ordered to continue turning. It was strange. Why didn't the shot work, did they hit a bad spot?  
Miho and Hana saw the same thing and were also surprised. Yukari however didn't stop the loading and already loaded up another shell while the Jumbo aimed at the Panzer IV. Hana tried to aim as fast as possible but the Jumbo fired already. The tank shook and Miho thought they were knocked out for sure. She looked to the place where the flag would pop out but again, no flag. It was the strangest situation in the battle. Where did those two shots went?  
Hana took another shot and again the shell rammed itself in the Jumbo, this time somewhat higher, just below the turret. This time the flag popped out and rendered the Jumbo out. Joran laughed. This was so strange it was funny. He jumped out of the commanders hatch and looked where the two shells had gone off too. Miho climbed out as well as Joran found the problem and laughed again.  
"This is rich. The first shell you fired hit the armor, and then hit the ground. It isn't really bounced off but it just went through pure armor. Then our shell flew off to the side and scrapped the whole front side of your armor. It is hilarious. Haha."  
Miho looked to the front of the Panzer IV and saw a line from one side to the other. The shell scratched the whole frontal armor, which made the tank shake. Miho also giggled when she saw this. The luck and bad luck they both had was pretty stupid.

When the tanks had returned and everyone stood in attendance Ami took the lead.  
"Well done. You have showed tactics and skill which for some of you was your first time. Now I have to ask you girls. Do the guys get a place in the school team?"  
The girls looked to each other and debated about it. Some nodded from approval and some were still a little shifty about it. The girls that had driven together with the guys were pretty happy with it if they could stay.  
"They are really nice and they knew what they were doing, even when I accidently drove through the open with the Hellcat."  
Konoka said a little shyly. Katsumi and Maï nodded.  
"They really helped us understand how we should do our jobs. We wouldn't mind having them here."  
Katsumi added to Konoka's plea. Erwin and Ceasar of the Stug team agreed and Erwin had a good idea.  
"The decision is with the commander, so miss Nishizumi should say if they should stay or go."  
The girls looked at Miho and awaited her answer. She got a little nervous because of the staring faces but tried to think rationally. The other teams might have other ideas about it but we are all about having fun in the battles. Miho looked at the girls that drove with the guys.  
"Would you say it was fun with them, driving the tanks?"  
The girls looked to each other and nodded.  
"Then as long as it is still fun, they are welcome in the team."  
The teams smiled and laughed, they had new teams, they were the first school which used guys as commanders in battles. Ami smiled as well. The girls were happy but the guys still needed to hear the news. Because they weren't officially part of the school, they had to stay with their tanks.  
"Who will tell the guys about the news?"  
She asked and looked around. The girls were a little shifty about it. This is an all girls school and they didn't really see many guys their age. Ami thought she might as well go herself, she was the instructor after all. But when she wanted to say she would go, Mayumi steeped forward.  
"We are their team, we will tell them, right?"  
The others nodded and looked to Ami.  
"Okay then, tell them."  
She smiled as the girls walked towards the tank. But then she remembered something.  
"Girls, please come back here later with the entire Hellcat crew."  
The girls yelled okay and ran towards the tanks.  
"Are you sure this was a good idea miss instructor?"  
Some girls asked Ami about the guys. They were still not sure if it was a good call to use them in the team.  
"There are no rules about no guys in the team. We're not breaking the rules, so there are no problems. The other teams might not agree, but the guys will so their best to not let us down. You can see that in their eyes and the way they pumped up their crew already."  
The girls accepted the explanation half. They had to see for themselves if the guys were really that reliable.

Joran, Jarno and Rick stood with the tanks. They were talking about the battle and laughed.  
"Seriously? Both shots were a miss? How lucky are you?"  
Rick laughed.  
"I know right? But they had the upper hand and finished us off. You should still be sniping back there instead of being knocked out."  
Joran said with a little bit disappointment in his voice. Jarno nodded.  
"Why did you yell faster to her, you should have gone back."  
Rick shook his head.  
"No way dude, they had already seen us. If we went back then we would have a lot of shells in the front hull. By driving straight forward we distracted the tanks and gave you the opportunity to fire, too bad the Stug had a nice shot on our tracks. We could have escaped."  
The guys nodded and laughed. They had to train the girls but they needed to remember, it had to be fun. They talked some more about their school as the girls arrived. The guys turned around and looked at Mayumi who stepped forward.  
"We have some good news. You're officially part of the school's team. We are glad we can work some more with you."  
They all bowed and smiled. The guys looked to each other and gave a high five shouting.  
"Hell yeah!"  
The girls laughed and wanted to talk with them but Chihiro stopped it.  
"Girls, the Hellcat team needs to go back to the instructor."  
Rick nodded and waved to the other two guys. Together with his team he walked towards the instructor while the other teams talked with their commanders.

"Ah, welcome back. It was a good battle. You have really shown that the Hellcat can work as a fast scout."  
Ami complimented the team.  
"But the commander isn't meant to be a gunner as well. Luckily, we have someone here who was a little late but won't mind being a gunner for your team."  
A girl behind Ami stepped forward and bowed.  
"My name is Yuï Sakamoto. I'm glad to work…"  
She stopped in mid sentence. She looked to Rick and started to stutter.  
"Is something wrong Yuï?"  
Ami asked worried. Yuï turned towards Ami and whispered.  
"Miss instructor, is the commander a guy?...I have… I'm afraid of men, that's why I liked this school being an all girls school."  
Ami laughed and smiled to Yuï.  
"See this as training to get used to the guys. Especially as the gunner, you would be the one sitting the closest to him."  
Yuï froze and looked to Rick again, who just didn't understand the situation. He stepped forward to introduce himself.  
"Hello Yuï. My name is Rick and I'm the commander of the M18 Hellcat, the tank you will be gunning I suppose."  
He smiled, trying to win her trust. Instead Yuï just nodded and hid behind Ami.  
"Nice to meet you…"  
She managed to say but stayed hidden. Ami laughed a little nervously at the sight. How would they solve this problem?

* * *

_**Next time: Free time mayhem. Will Yuï accept Rick as her commander? How will the girls welcome the guys into their team? What questions will be asked to the guys?  
But for now, here are some simple descriptions of the new characters, including Yuï. The commanders and the school got a bigger description but I will edit bigger descriptions for the girls later on.  
Thank you.**_

* * *

**Enfield Air School (Mixed school)  
**Whereas most of the girls are on academy warships and learn to control this or driving in tanks, most of the guys are on school on airfields where they learn to fly planes like the Spitfire, Hurricane, BF109's and so on. The guys are from Enfield Air school where they mostly fly around with the British planes as the Spitfire and Hurricane or the Lancaster. The guys originally wrote themselves in for fun and if they could fly the planes. But in one of their try-outs both Jarno and Rick, who flew in the Lancaster, saw something on the ground. In their first year they formed a tank club in the school and barely survived that year. Even so, more students came because of their club and so did Joran. The club stayed in existence and got paid for services, depending on the results.

Tiger II

_**(King)**_  
Name: **Jarno Monfils**  
Role: Commander  
Age: 18  
Height: 187 cm  
Looks: Black spiky hair. He mostly wears jeans with a shirt and matching body warmer.  
Favourite Tank: IS-3  
Jarno is a typical in control guy. He can take charge in a situation and has an aura of strictness around him. He can relax but this is only when he is totally free for something else. He has a girlfriend and regularly has contact with her, they are talking about marriage, sometimes not noticing two eavesdroppers who listen in on the conversation.

Name: Eri  
Role: Loader  
Age: 16  
Height: 166 cm  
Looks: Black hair till just past her shoulders. Average bust for her age, slim waist and below average hips.  
Favourite Tank: SU-85

Name: Miku  
Role: Driver  
Age: 17  
Height: 174 cm  
Looks: Red long hair. Above Average bust for her age, slim waist and average hips.  
Favourite Tank: M3 Stuart

Name: Kaoru  
Role: Radio operator  
Age: 17  
Height: 177 cm  
Looks: Light black hair till just past her shoulders. big bust, slim waist and nice hips.  
Favourite Tank: ZSU-37

Name: Katsumi  
Role: Gunner  
Age: 18  
Height: 187 cm  
Looks: Black long hair that will go until her hips. Nice bust, good waist and average hips.  
Favourite Tank: Hummel

**M4A3E2 Sherman **_**(Jumbo)**_  
Name: **Joran Schuurman**  
Role: Commander  
Age: 17  
Height: 189 cm  
Looks: Blond short hair which is longer on the front. Mostly wears khaki's and a shirt with random text.  
Favourite Tank: Panzer V Panther  
Joran is the active guy of the three. He always tries to get into activities and get in the masses. As the youngest of the three he is expected to follow up Jarno as the grand-commander of their club. Joran doesn't really cares about it and just tries to have fun. He is seeing a girl from their school. He is faithful but even so he tries to get close to the girls in his crew to have fun.

Name: Kotone  
Role: Driver  
Age: 16  
Height: 189 cm  
Looks: Brown Ponytail. Average bust, small waist and average hips. Does have long slender legs.  
Favourite Tank: Leopard 1

Name: Mayumi  
Role: Gunner  
Age: 16  
Height: 189 cm  
Looks: Black hair like Shana (Shakugan no Shana). Big bust, slim waste and average hips.  
Favourite Tank: M24 Chaffee

Name: Maï  
Role: Loader  
Age: 17  
Height: 189 cm  
Looks: Same hair as her sister. Has a smaller bust, slim waist and bigger hip size than her sister.  
Favourite Tank: Type 58

**M18 Hellcat **_**(Hellcat)**_  
Name: **Rick van Es**  
Role: Commander  
Age: 18  
Height: 195 cm  
Looks: Brown hair. Mostly wears camo pants with a tank top with blouse.  
Favourite Tank: MTLS-1G14  
Rick is more relaxed than the other two, even though he is just as old as Jarno. Rick is not really a leader and rather waits until the command tells him what to do. He can take charge but his decisions are mostly risky. Rick has no experience with woman but tries to hide this by just being relaxed and be nice to the girls.

Name: Yuï Sakamoto  
Role: Gunner  
Age: 17  
Height: 185 cm  
Looks: Long red twin tails. Small bust, slim waist and average hips.  
Favourite Tank: P40 heavy tank

Name: Konoka  
Role: Driver  
Age: 16  
Height: 170 cm  
Looks: Brown hair till just past her shoulders, wears cycling glasses. Nice bust, slim waist and nice hips.  
Favourite Tank: M26 Pershing

Name: Chihiro  
Role: Loader  
Age: 18  
Height: 169 cm  
Looks: Short blond hair, glasses. Small bust, slim waist and below average hips.  
Favourite Tank: SU-100Y

Name: Mana  
Role: Radio operator  
Age: 17  
Height: 187 cm  
Looks: Long light brown hair. Big bust, slim waist and good hips.  
Favourite Tank: KV-5


	3. Chapter 3

The entire school team had gathered themselves in the sushi bar in town.  
"On the forming of a new winning team and a special welcome to the guys with their tanks! Cheers!"

Almost the whole bar cheered with them. Next to the eleven teams, the mechanics and the instructor there was also the former Presidential team. They were happily talking with Miho, Soari and Hana. The other teams sat with their own teams, some trying to get to know each other better and just have fun with the food. The guys sat just with the three of them. The girls of their team sat near them but were mostly talking among themselves. Jarno, Joran and Rick were talking about the new gunner.

"So you got yourself a gunner? No more mister sniper shot then, haha."  
Joran and Jarno both laughed at it.  
"Yeah yeah, laugh about it, but remember that you two are the ones who called me that in the beginning of last year. But seriously, a gunner who is afraid of men. In the Hellcat, she relatively has to sit next to me. The loader only has her head, or up till her waist between us if we sit on the ring."  
Rick took another sip of his drink and a bite from the sushi. Jarno smiled and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry about it, you have trained multiple gunners in the two years we've already had. Even though they weren't afraid of you, this might be a good training for you. To learn to deal with this."

Joran just nodded and the three of them looked at the girls. The girls behind them tried to listen but when they noticed they looked at them, the girls looked at Yuï, also because she was new of course. Yuï seemed like a pretty lively girl. There was no hint she was afraid of anyone. The girls happily talked but when Yuï noticed the guys were looking at her she began to blush and look down. The other girls looked at the guys a little angry.  
"Don't stare at her like that guys, she's not used to males."

Maï said to the guys, almost in sync with her sister Mayumi. Joran laughed a little while turning around and got a small hit of Jarno in the back of his head. Rick sighed and dropped his head on his arms. This wasn't his cup-of-tea. He just wanted to have fun and now he had a guy scared girl in his team. This was just great.

Miho looked through the bar. The historians were happily talking and drinking, sometimes you could hear a 'That's it!' scream from their table but nothing out of the norm. They were the only ones who were talking happily without sometimes looking to the guys, while the other teams sometimes stopped talking to look at the guys. It wasn't that strange, the guys were a strange sight between the girls. She had to find away to make the tension drop. She looked questioning to Soari, who could easily talk to everyone, but the moment she looked at Soari she remembered one thing from last year.

Her constant talk about looking for the right guy. Soari tried to do multiple things at the same time. Talking to Mako and Hana, staring to the guys, looking to herself with the mirror in her powder box. Miho smiled a little nervously, she was already glad Saori hadn't jumped them yet. But before she could ask Saori for advice or something to do Anzu already got everyone's attention.  
"Okay ladies. I know you all got questions for the guys and we all need to trust each other, so let's get it on. The guys will answer all questions you got for them. Right?"

She looked towards the guys who were a little shocked. They looked towards one of the last year team members.  
"Was it also like this last year?"  
The one they asked was (Pz38t member). She thought about it and nodded.  
"Yeah, they like to get these things started to get a better teamwork and moral."

The guys sighed. They just arrived in a quiz where they had to answer all the questions correctly, and the number of questions could be infinite. But no matter, they just had to sit out and hope for the best. The girls turned towards the guys and they could easily see that there were evil grins amongst them. Rick and Joran turned towards Jarno.  
"Can't we flee away from this?"  
Jarno shook his head.  
"No way, we don't run away."  
The other two sighed and looked towards the girls. This could become a carnage…

"How is your school like? Are there also girls at your school? How is the mixing at your school? What kind of sports are played at your school?"  
The questions were actually straightforward about their school, but these questions were mostly from the Historian club and volleyball club. The evil laughs hadn't started asking yet, so as long as those hadn't come, the guys wanted to answer those questions first.

"Our school is pretty nice, sometimes loud with the training close by. Since our school is a airfield and the main attraction is an Air Club with Spitfires and Hurricanes. There a just as many girls at our school as guys, the mixing is different in every class. It mostly depends on the studies the classes follow."  
Jarno started with Joran following.

"The girls in our school do different stuff like helping repair the planes till arming them. Next to that the most of them provide food for the pilots in the teams. Those guys are really popular so the girls are aiming to win their hearts with the cooking they provide. Most girls in our school aren't like that but you see a lot like that."

Joran started to laugh and Rick ended the normal questions round.  
"The mixing altogether would be considered normal, 50/50 most of the time. The sports that are played are volleyball, basketball, baseball, paintball and multiple athletics. Our air team is the most famous in our school. The baseball team pretty much sucks."  
Rick shrugged and took his drink while looking at the other guys. It seemed to go pretty well until now. This could end alright. But the next shot of questions arrived.

"Do you guys have girlfriends? How do you like the team so far? Do you have an eye on one of the girls here? Is the Tiger you drive in the Command version?"  
The talking stopped with the last question. Even the blushing of the guys that started in with the first question also disappeared. Yukari looked with sparkling eyes to Jarno, you could almost see a tail and dog ears appear on her.  
"Yes, I drive a Command Tiger II It has extra radio's and bigger antenna's. It's good from you to notice that, not everyone sees that."  
Yukari smiled happily and nodded.

"Thank you, I already thought about it in the battle but I never thought I would see one like that. I has really powerful radio's right? What is it's signal range?"  
Yukari kept asking away until one of the other girls stopped her.  
"How about our questions?"

Joran and Rick shook their heads, they were so close to being free from the questions. But Jarno again took the lead.  
"I have a girlfriend and we're even talking about marriage."  
The girls screamed a little from the announcement. Joran took his turn next so that he was over it.

"I'm dating a girl but she isn't officially my girl yet. I like the teams and girls here, you are all very nice and I already know that we will have a lot of fun here."  
The guys looked at Rick for he was the last one to speak up. Rick got nervous and looked to the girls. He didn't seem to get as much attention from the girls as the other two so he was a bit relieved. Apparently they weren't as interested in him as the other two.

"I'm single, not actively searching for someone but who knows what the future will bring. The teams are awesome till now and I hope to have fun till the end."  
Rick sighed and after some time Anzu jumped in.  
"Okay, those were eventually some nice questions. But let's get back to the normal talks. I will have to ask you guys to mix in with the crowd."  
The guys nodded and mixed up in the festivity. After some time they found a good conversation and Anzu smiled happily. The teams this year seemed happy and like they were confident in winning this year as well. Anzu looked at Momo and nodded. The old president crew silently left the bar and left some cash with the owner.

"I hope they win this year as well. Those guys better help out good with our team or else."  
She smiled a little towards the sushi bar before walking away. There was something she hadn't said, but last year it was clear that the bad news would demoralize the team. They couldn't have that again.

The guys were happily mixed with the girls. Jarno had a conversation with Yukari about the Command version of the Tiger II, she really couldn't drop the subject and kept pestering him with it. Joran had company from Saori and Hana and just happily talked with them and the Rabbit team. Rick sat down with the Historian team. They had some talk about wars they represented people from. They also had a talk about the turreted tank destroyer. They were very enthusiastic about it and Miho had to laugh as she looked to Mako who slowly drank her drink together with Sodoko and her team. Miho smiled at everyone having fun, she looked up her own spot and joined in the fun.

In the meantime Jarno and Yukari were still busy talking.  
"…so yeah, the command version really has double the radio's but the new turret cranks make it really special and dangerous. That fast turret traverse is thanks to the power drain on the engine but it really is annoying the overheating it could cause."  
Yukari nodded.

"Yeah I saw it. It turns really fast on full speed. How fast would it go all around on full speed?"  
Jarno thought about it.  
"Around 10 seconds but we never tested it out."  
The two of them seemed to have a lively conversation. Miho was happy that the evening was going smoothly and even she had a good conversation with the other teams, mostly the Volleyball team and parts of the new teams. She had a talk with Yuï who again seemed really happy and lively without a trace of being scared of anyone.

"So Yuï, what do you think of the teams until now?"  
Miho just asked friendly.  
"I like it. Everyone is so nice but if you don't mind me saying…"  
She looked around and Miho shook her head to say she could just say it.  
"…I think the guys may go and never return. I just don't like them, I don't want to drive a tank with them. This is our thing, panzerfahren is for ladies to get ladylike. Why did they have to come and ruin it?"

Yuï was clear and Miho looked a little shocked. The guys had also heard what she said and had stopped their talking to look at their general ï cramped up by their stares and Miho looked around nervously. What did she had to do. She thought she had to step up as commander and make it all okay. But before she could say anything something was said to drop the happiness of the party to subzero.

"Wow… Thanks for that. Thanks for rubbing it in that we ruin it, like we haven't heard that before."  
Rick stepped up after saying that and stepped outside. Edwin followed him with a gesture that the other two guys could stay with their current conversation partners. Yuï looked a little guilty while Miho kept looking shocked.  
"Uhm, you can't mean that all the way right Yuï? It's not like they are really ruining the game right? We may seem a little strange to other teams but even they won't say that."  
Yuï shook her head.

"No way, I heard it multiple times. Guys just want violence and ruin the honorable play of tanks. All the time I hear guys talk about what they would do in the tanks when they eventually drive in them. These are just the same."  
Jarno sighed and made sure Yuï didn't hear what he said, so Yukari was the only one that heard him.  
"That's deep hatred to guys… Maybe she better not be in the Hellcat. It would be deep hatred against one of the most stubborn people I know. That won't be good."

He looked at Joran and nodded, who also went after Rick and Edwin. Miho tried to calm Yuï down in the meantime.  
"Come on Yuï, even though they said that doesn't mean they would do that right? Besides, these guys are different."  
Yuï shook her head again, it was almost like she shook it off her head.  
"How would you know that, you have had only one battle with them. There is no way you would know them by now."  
the whole mood had gone down in the conversation. Jarno was also about to leave this behind, hoping the mood would go up again. But Miho's words stopped him.

"That maybe true, but one of the first things I learned of panzerfahren is that you can understand the other better after a battle against her…or him in this case. And it is true, I felt in their style that they are here for fun. They seem a little goofy with that but that just makes it also fun for the others."  
Miho smiled to Yuï, who had a battle between her guy hatred and the story of Miho.  
"But what do I have to do then? Even when I accept this all… That guy is just too angry at me."

Apparently she was still as headstrong as ever, even though they have broken through for a bit. Miho laughed nervously like the instructor did. She had no idea what to say to that, but she didn't have to.  
"Don't worry about that. Even hated and despised, I help to train the gunner. I made that promise when we began and no one that just hated me stops that."  
Rick had come back with Joran and Edwin.

"Hey thanks for coming back."  
Jarno said with a smile.  
"Yeah, who knew that a speech about how Rommel did his strategies would get me back to myself. Thanks Edwin."  
Edwin nodded.  
"No thanks. You're a friend now."

Rick walked to Miho and Yuï. He looked to both of them and smiled, a little tired, but it was a smile.  
"Thanks for those words Miho, it was so quiet here we could hear it outside. And Yuï, I will train you even if you like it or not. So see you next training."  
The girls looked a little confused, next training, won't they stay here? Joran and Jarno also said their goodbyes and walked to the door. They stopped outside and looked inside again, when Konoka and Mayumi asked something.  
"Why are you leaving already? We could still have fun."  
The guys shook their heads.  
"We'd love to have some fun with you gals, really. But we don't have a place to stay yet. And I don't think it's handy for us to keep parachuting in here. So we need to find a place to stay for the time being."

They turned around and walked away. Leaving the girls behind. Yuï felt guilty and apologized to the other girls for her behavior, especially the other teammates of the guys who were pretty positive about them. The happiness continued after that like nothing had happened. Saori went to the Historian club with Yukari. Hana and Miho went to talk with the Volleyball club while Mako hung around Sodoko. Literally hung around her. She just said hello to her and fell on her back for some kind of hug… But more as if she was hugging a pillow. It was a pretty funny sight. They talked and laughed some more until it was time to go back to their homes. They wouldn't want to be late tomorrow. At least most problems were solved, even though they didn't know more troubles would follow up.

The next morning Miho walked to school like always. The sun was shining again, the delicious smell from the bakery still lingered around, the pole she hit on her first day here was evaded. She even met up with Saori and Mako before continuing. It felt like the day would be perfect. But when they arrived at the front gate they saw that there was a big commotion. Even Sodoko was not on her usual place because of this. They heard her screaming though.

"As the head of the public's moral community I order you to move these tents from the school grounds!"  
Miho, Saori and Mako pushed through the lines of students to look at the sight. There were three tents next to each other. There were three people in front of them including Sodoko. It were Jarno and Joran.  
"Hey you two, you slept here in the open?"

The girls asked as they came closer to the people, then the third tent opened up and Rick came out, with a extremely sleepy face that could rival Mako's. He was straight in uniform like the others but it was a uniform the girls hadn't seen yet. It was a black blazer with white pants. On all three stood the same mark as their school had, the red shield with three white planes. Apparently it was their school uniform. But why would they wear that?  
"Are…you guys going to follow classes with us?"  
Saori asked a little careful.

"Yes, we went to the headmaster yesterday and made preparations for us to follow classes here. But it was late so we got permission to sleep on the grounds. Only for tonight so after classes we will search for a place to stay."  
Jarno explained. Behind him Joran tried to fix up Rick's uniform who misplaced a button and now the blazer was hanging weird. It was funny to see so the girls giggled while Jarno was explaining, which irritated him. Sodoko looked more irritated and ordered them to stop doing that as Miho laughed. It seemed the mornings would be livelier from now on.

The introductions in the first classes were pretty much like the introductions of the day before. Jarno was put in the class where Miho and Saori were. You couldn't call it quiet but they remained concentrating on the classes and when they had time they talked. But mostly about the work they had to do, which was good in comparison with the other two.  
Joran was put in the class together with the Rabbit team. He sat down between (R1) and (R2). But the teacher wasn't so happy since she heard giggling behind her almost all the time. Rick was put together with the Volleyball club and the Historian club. He had to sit down next to Caesar and (V1). They sometimes had talks about sports, history and panzerfahren, even though the teacher scolded them every time a 'That's It!' was yelled.

The days went by slowly and the trainings went pretty smoothly. Yuï however wasn't ready to be taught by Rick how to handle the gun. So Rick first taught Hana and then Hana taught Yuï. Hana was a fast study and quickly knew what the difference was between the two guns. Rick smiled happily when she saw that his teachings weren't half as bad as he expected. Miku, Kotone and Konoka learned how to drive their tanks more efficiently and controlling the speed. Miku managed to drive the Tiger II around tight corners in a short time and to turn even in tight spaces like the mock team battle. Kotone began to drive better in the Jumbo and learned from Mako how to drift the tank. Even with preserving the tracks. Konoka also controlled the Hellcat better, even though it took way longer than the other two even with the help of Mako.

The guys also finally had a place to sleep. Although they school didn't like it as first, the guys each got a different location to stay. Some of the girls had a extra place to sleep. For example Konoka's family ran the public baths in town and their house was large enough to take at least one occupant in. Jarno took her up on her offer and even worked some hours there as repayment.  
Joran managed to get a place at Mayumi and Maï, who just lived together in a house given to them by their father. Apparently they were rich girls so he just slept, ate and had fun there. He got his own room and enjoyed his days there.  
Rick got the short end of the stick and was given a hut on the ship. He didn't mind though even though since then a ghost story started about a voice and walking through the corridors of a ghost that lost its way down there.  
The training days went on happily until one day Anzu appeared again from nowhere.

"Hey there, we're back. And we wanted to wish you luck with the drawing tomorrow. It will be pretty tight this year. I heard that some schools acquired some new powerful tanks so please do well."  
She smiled looking at the teams. There was progress to be seen... And it was needed.


End file.
